Job Search

Your Role in the Career Services Process:

1. You must assume ownership and responsibility for your career development and job search process.

The process of career development – from career exploration to the job search process – is a partnership in which you must take an active role. Using your Career Center to find a job is like using your gym to get in shape. You can’t just snap your fingers and you’re physically fit…you have to exercise. Lift weights, run laps, and work out. Likewise, you need to “work out” at your Career Center. Your Career Center workout may consist of registering for Handshake, meeting with your Career Consultant, and attending programs on resume writing, networking, and the job search. By partnering with the Career Center, you’ll be able to enhance your career development skills and, ultimately, become more successful in your job search.

2. You must provide accurate information about your academic work and records, including courses taken, grades, positions held, and duties performed.
You can, however, refuse to provide an employer with specific information about any job offers you may have received from other employers. You do not have to name the organizations that have made you offers, nor do you have to provide specific information about what salaries you've discussed with those organizations. Instead, you can give broad responses to such questions, naming types of employers—"I've interviewed with employers in the retail industry"—and offering salary ranges rather than specific dollar amounts—"The salary offers I've received have been in the $25,000 to $30,000 range." Incidentally, it's in your best interest to research salaries and to let employers know that you have done so.

3. Be honest.
Conduct your job search with honesty and integrity. Do not lie or stretch the truth on your resume, applications, or during any part of the interview process.

4. Interview genuinely.
Interview only with employers you’re sincerely interested in working for and whose eligibility requirements you meet. “Practice” interviewing is misleading to employers—wasting both their time and money—and prevents sincerely interested candidates from using those interview slots.

5. Adhere to schedules.
Appear for all interviews, on campus and elsewhere, unless unforeseeable events prevent you from doing so. And, if you can't make the interview because of an unforeseeable event, notify your career center and the employer at the earliest possible moment.

6. Don't keep employers hanging.
Communicate your acceptance or refusal of a job offer to employers as promptly as possible, so they can notify other candidates that they are still being considered or that the position is filled.

7. Accept a job offer in good faith.
When you accept an offer, you should have every intention of honoring that commitment. Accepting an offer only as a precautionary measure is misleading to the employer and may restrict opportunities for others who are genuinely interested in that employer.

8. Withdraw from recruiting when your job search is completed.
If you accept an offer or decide that full-time graduate or professional studies are for you, notify your career center and withdraw from the on-campus recruiting process immediately. And, let employers that are actively considering you for a job know that you are now out of the running. By informing everyone that you've got a job or are headed to graduate school, you not only get the chance to brag but also to help your friends who are trying to get on interview schedules or who are being considered for positions.

9. Claim fair reimbursement.
If an employer has agreed to reimburse you for expenses you incur in its recruitment process, your request should be only for reasonable and legitimate expenses.

10. Obtain the career information you need to make an informed choice about your future.
t's up to you to acquire the information about career opportunities, organizations, and any other information that might influence your decisions about an employing organization.

11. Follow student event policy.
To help ensure a pleasant and productive environment for all participants, the following guidelines have been established: 1) Career Fairs are open to UGA students and alumni only. 2) Respect all participants (employers, job seekers, and staff). 3) Appropriate attire is required and is determined by event. Some events require Professional or Business Attire. 4) For safety reasons, the doorways to the event (inside and out) and the surrounding areas must be kept clear at all times. 5) Participants are expected to cooperate with all reasonable requests made by members of the staff and all reasonable requests of any person acting in an official capacity as a representative of the participating institutions. 6) If questions or concerns arise during the event, please contact a member of the Career Center staff for assistance.

12. Follow the Handshake usage policy.
Access to Handshake is provided exclusively to currently enrolled UGA students and alumni. Individual account holders are prohibited from sharing their access to the system with other individuals (UGA or external). UGA students or alumni who violate this policy are, at the discretion of the UGA Career Center, subject to lose their access to Handshake, including their interviewing privileges at the UGA Career Center. Other policy violations, such as not showing up for a scheduled campus interview and/or RSVP event, could lead students’ to lose their access to Handshake.

13. Request accommodations if necessary - Career Center Disability Access Policy.
The Career Center is committed to providing access for all people with disabilities and will provide accommodations if notified in advance. To request accommodations please contact us at (706) 542-3375.

14. Be aware of fraudulent job postings - Career Center Fraudulent Jobs Policy.
The University of Georgia’s (UGA) Career Center does not endorse any employer and urges students/alumni to use good judgment in all of their interactions with employers. The UGA Career Center suggests that students/alumni request business references for unknown organizations before interviewing with them off campus. The UGA Career Center advises students/alumni to interview in public places only. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the validity of an employer’s job posting, interview practices, or any other interaction you may have with an employer please contact UGA’s Career Center at (706) 542-3375.

If you are actively seeking employment, don't fall for one of the many forms of employment scams.

You must give your credit card or bank account numbers, or copies of personal documents - but you get nothing in writing.

You must send payment by wire service or courier.

You are offered a large payment or reward in exchange for allowing the use of your bank account - often for depositing checks or transferring money.

You receive an unexpectedly large check.

15. Read, respond, and act on student e-mail notices.

The UGA Career Center uses e-mail to notify students/alumni about newly posted positions, upcoming deadlines, or last minute changes to interview schedules. Employers will primarily use your email for notifications, so it’s critical to check your e-mail on a regular basis!